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Daily Bible thoughts 952: Monday 24th August 2015: 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12: The world’s largest room.

 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12: The world’s largest room.(please click here for todays passage)

In this passage Paul outlines certain aims and aspects of Christian living. In today’s thought we will consider what these are. Tomorrow we will look at why we should live in such a way.

In essence, Paul’s call is that believers should live in a way that pleases God (1) and make progress in such a life. There is no time to stand still. There is a repeated emphasis in these verses not only on upright behaviour, but also on advance and progress in the things of God (1b, 10). Where the Thessalonians were doing well, the apostle asked for ‘’more and more’’ of the same. Someone said, ‘’I’m in the biggest room in the world – the room for improvement.’’

So Paul is writing to the Thessalonians about the life of sanctification; of holiness (3a, 7). This is the kind of living that pleases God. It is instructive to note that there was nothing new about this teaching (1, 2). They were, in fact, being reminded of what they already knew. One important facet of the church’s teaching ministry is to repeatedly go over material that people know, but may not be fully living. It’s in their heads, but not yet in their feet! The expression in (4) ‘’that each of you should learn’’ shows, for example, that growth in purity is not automatic; it takes time. (The new Christians in Thessalonica had come from a ‘’heathen’’ background, and it would probably be a lengthy process for many of them to divest themselves of attitudes and practices that were natural to them in heathenism.)

Paul, in this section, writes about three particular areas for growth in sanctification. There is nothing exhaustive about his treatment of the subject, but probably these three things were particularly relevant to the Thessalonians. They remain of great importance to today’s church:

  • Sexual purity/self-control (3, 4);
  • Love (9, 10);
  • Daily work (see also 2 Thessalonians 3:10-12; Ephesians 4:28). It would appear that some of the Thessalonian Christians had, deliberately or otherwise, mistaken Paul’s teaching about the second coming of Jesus. They were sitting twiddling their thumbs in the departure lounge at the airport, cases packed, waiting for their flight to be called! What’s the point of working if Jesus is coming back soon? Paul gives good reasons, as we will see tomorrow.

If you content yourself with standing still in the Christian life, you won’t tread water for long. You will soon start to go backwards. Warren Wiersbe says that ‘’more and more’’ should be the desire of the dedicated Christian.

Prayer: Lord, I am aware of the temptation to stay close to the shore; to just paddle in the shallows. But deep within me I long to go deeper into your unfathomable depths. Please hear the cry of my heart for growth, progress and development. I don’t want to stay as I am.

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Daily Bible thoughts 950: Thursday 20th August 2015: Jeremiah 13: 12-17

Jeremiah 13: 12-17(please click here for todays passage)

Warren Wiersbe, in his commentary on this chapter, places these two quotes at the beginning:

‘’Whoso would be a man must be a non-conformist.’’ Ralph Waldo Emerson;

‘’We need the faith to go a path untrod, The power to be alone and vote with God.’’ Edwin Markham.

Jeremiah, as God’s spokesman in dismal times, trod a lonely path. People, in the main, do not like to hear a call to repentance, or be warned of the judgment that will fall if they do not turn to God. They don’t like ‘Hell fire preaching.’ But although people may live as if sin has no consequences, those consequences will drop by one day, whether they like it or not. Yesterday we saw how this section of the book is full of images of the coming judgment; the devastation Jeremiah saw approaching on the horizon. He heard the galloping hooves of doom in the near distance. Wednesday’s notes looked at three of these pictures. Here are a further three:

  • Banished (19): ‘’And Judah dragged off to exile, the whole country dragged to oblivion.’’ The Message. As the Jerusalem temple was the place where God manifested His presence; the site where the people went to meet with Him, this exile is often seen as being thrust from God’s presence. That is the essence of Hell. If we refuse God’s company and friendship in this life we will not have it in the next. It’s that simple. Someone pointed out that Adam and Eve first chose to hide from God before He removed them from the Garden of Eden. Ultimately, what God will do in judgment is to rubber stamp the choices we have already made. We make our decisions then they turn around and make us, as someone said.
  • Blown (24; see Psalm 1:4): ‘’I’ll blow these people away – like wind-blown leaves.’’ The Message. Here is a warning: we will become like the objects of our worship. If what we worship is ‘’chaff’’ (and every idol falls into the category) then we too will become ‘’like chaff’’ – insubstantial people living for insubstantial things, leading empty lives When the wind of judgment blows through the land we’ll be carried away on the breeze. In ourselves we will always be people of worth as those made in God’s image; but we will live rubbish lives if we reject God for other gods, and our end will be the rubbish pile, whither we are wafted. (Chaff is the useless by-product of the harvesting process. The workers throw the grain into the air, and the chaff is blown away on the desert wind.)
  • Blushing (22, 25-27; see Micah 3:7): ‘’…you forgot me and embraced the Big Lie, that so-called god Baal. I’m the one who will rip off your clothes, expose and shame you before the watching world. Your obsessions with gods, gods, and more gods, your goddess affairs, your god-adulteries. Gods on the hills, gods in the fields – every time I look you’re off with another god.’’ The Message. According to the law of Moses, prostitution was not permitted in the land (Lev.19:29; 21:7, 14), and public exposure sometimes disgraced prostitutes. The picture here is drawn from that. A day is coming when all our hidden sin will be exposed and we will be ashamed. But for those who trust in Jesus and His finished work on the cross, there is a totally different prospect. Why would anyone reject Christ?

Prayer: Although people may like the ‘medicine’ in the message, may I never fail to pour it onto the gospel ‘spoon’ and offer it to all who will drink.

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Daily Bible thoughts 949: Wednesday 19th August 2015: Jeremiah 13:12-27

 Jeremiah 13:12-27(please click here for todays passage)

In this chapter there are a number of images employed to depict the coming judgment:

Drunkenness (12-14; Psalm 60:3; Isaiah 51:17): We know that there was a widespread problem with drunken behaviour in Jeremiah’s day. Many of the leaders (including the spiritual leaders) had drink issues. Here God says that they will stagger into each other like bewildered, panicking, drunken people and thereby bring on their own defeat at the hands of their enemies. People may enjoy the company of ungodly friends, and feel secure in the rosy glow of collective inebriation. But it’s a false security. They will effectively help to bring each other down. It’s like feeling safe in a group as the wine flows and the talk and laughter grow louder, but no-one realises that the whole house is about to collapse in an earthquake. Feeling secure is not the same as being secure. For that you need Christ alone (Matthew 7: 24-27).

Ever-increasing darkness (15-17; see also Isaiah 8:22; Micah 3:6,7; John 12:35; 2 Thessalonians 2:10b-12): If we reject the light we have, we are opting for the darkness. This is what we are ‘ordering’ and we will have it. It will be served up to us. If you turn your back on the light, you turn your face towards the darkness. ‘’He compared them to a traveller on an unfamiliar and dangerous mountain trail, without a map and without light, hoping for the dawn. Instead of the light dawning, however, the darkness only deepens…He wanted to lead them through the words of His prophet, but the people wouldn’t follow. If we reject God’s light, nothing remains but darkness.’’ Warren W. Wiersbe: ‘The Wiersbe Bible Commentary (OT)’, P.1223. Verse 13 takes us back to what we read yesterday in verses 1 to 11. Jeremiah’s contemporaries, in the main, would not humble themselves and listen to God. They rejected the light and headed into ever-intensifying darkness (see Romans 1: 18-32.) They removed themselves from closeness to God who is ‘’light’’ (1 John 1:5). ‘’Let your lives glow bright before GOD before he turns out the lights, Before you trip and fall on the dark mountain paths. The light you always took for granted will go out and the world will turn black.’’ The Message. If you keep heading on into the darkness there will come a point where you can’t find your way back.

Labour pains (21): Doroth L. Sayers, the famous author, said that the essence of Hell is ‘’the truth discovered too late.’’ This verse describes the terrible pain they will feel when they realise that the nation they cultivated as their ally has become their overlord. If only they had trusted in God, He would have been their dependable Ally; but the nation they leaned on turned out to be their enemy. There may be much we can’t say about Hell. There is some degree of mystery about all it will entail, but it will surely involve the burning pain of bitter regret, as the truth is discovered too late!

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Daily Bible thoughts 948: Tuesday 18th August 2015: Jeremiah 13: 1- 11: Life’s purpose.

Jeremiah 13: 1- 11: Life’s purpose.(click here for todays passage)

‘’You were not made for time and for passing things, but for God and eternity, and to have your heart filled with God and with things eternal.’’ Tersteegen.

‘’Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.’’ Westminster Shorter Catechism.

The ‘’linen belt’’ was probably a kind of undergarment worn next to the skin. No other clothing on a man would be closer to him. God had brought the nation close to Himself, but as the belt became ‘’ruined and completely useless’’ (7b) as it was put away from its owner, so the people of Judah and Jerusalem were ruined by pride. They would not listen to God (10, 11). When they were ‘’bound’’ close to God they were fulfilling their destiny. But then pride intervened and became their downfall. It will take anyone down (Proverbs 16:18; 29:23; James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5).

Here are some interesting quotes on today’s passage:

‘’The linen belt (verse 1) represented the close relationship between God and His people. Just as the linen belt was ruined, so will the people’s relationship with God be ruined…Instead of clinging to God like a belt, the people abandoned God and thus hastened the day of their own ruin.’’ Tom Hale: ‘The applied Old Testament Commentary, p.1095.

‘’As long as the people clung to God in humble obedience, He was glorified. When they defiled themselves in pride, they became useless…’’ Warren W. Wiersbe: ‘With the Word’, p.506.

‘’Perath was probably a place not far from Anathoth, the prophet’s home…the Name Perath, however, also means the Euphrates, and the sign makes a connection, therefore, with the empires of Mesopotamia. The reference might be to Judah’s acceptance of Assyrian religion, as much as the threat of exile in Babylon. (Exile, in fact, would have a restoring, rather than ruinous, effect; 24:5-7). The many days of v.6 would then refer to the long period of Israel’s and Judah’s persistence in sin (cf.v.10). This sin was itself, inevitably, the cause of their ruin.’’ Gordon McConville: ‘New Bible Commentary’, p.684.

The message seems to be, then, stay close to God in humble obedience to whatever He tells you. Usefulness will only be found in closeness to God. Get away from Him and you become dirty and spoiled; a ruined child! The way to stay close to God is by humbly listening to His Word and submitting to it. It’s interesting that Jeremiah himself exemplified this intimacy with God. Listen to his own words in response to God’s: ‘’Go and buy…So I bought…Take the belt…and hide it…So I went and hid it…Go now…So I went…’’ (1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7). Amidst widespread spiritual declension, Jeremiah remained close to God: he listened, he submitted, he obeyed.

Thought: You can’t live for His praise whilst trying to live in your pride.

‘’Do whatever he tells you.’’ (John 2:5).

Prayer: Lord, I want to be that humble person, who listen to you and does what you say. But I often feel my heart drawn in the opposite direction. So I cry to you, once again, and ask you to help me be true. Have mercy on me, O God. I need you.

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Daily Bible thoughts 945: Friday 14th August 2015: Proverbs 24:23-34: Love thy neighbour.

Proverbs 24:23-34: Love thy neighbour.(please click here for todays passage)

There are a number of statements made in this section which challenge our standards of neighbourly love:

  • About lack of favouritism (23-25): There is a need for fairness in how we treat all people. Although these verses apply primarily to the legal system, they can also have a more general application. How we treat people is really important, because how we act towards them is how we treat Christ (Matthew 25:40, 45; Hebrews 6:10). ‘’It is wrong, very wrong, to go along with injustice. Whoever whitewashes the wicked gets a black mark in the history books, But whoever exposes the wicked will be thanked and rewarded.’’ The Message.
  •  About loving honesty with others (26): It can be hard to express love in this way, but honesty can be as beautiful as a kiss. However, let the truth be imparted as tenderly as possible. The challenge is to deliver the message in such a way that the recipient feels ‘kissed’ by it and not smacked around the head. ‘’An honest answer is like a warm hug.’’ The Message. Maybe you need courage to embrace someone in your world with the truth today.
  • About personal honesty regarding others (28; see also Exodus 20:16; Proverbs 24:17-20 and 20:22; Romans 12:17a, 19-21.): I believe this also applies to the realm of thought. If you are thinking something about someone, but you don’t know it is true, then don’t permit that thought to stay in your mind. Swat it away. Don’t speak lies about others, and don’t believe them either. ‘’Don’t talk about your neighbours behind their backs – no slander or gossip, please.’’ The Message.
  •  About not taking revenge (29; see Romans 12:17a, 19-21): You might be tempted to get even by lying about a person, but don’t. There is this important principle that people will reap what they sow. Their bad deeds will rebound on them. You don’t want to get in the way of that. Like Jesus, take your case to a higher court (1 Peter 2:21-23). Trust your wise, all-loving and just Heavenly Father.

Prayer: Lord God, help me to grasp that you really are concerned with how we treat other people.

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Daily Bible thoughts 943: Wednesday 12th August 2015: 1 Thessalonians 3: ‘There may be trouble ahead…’

1 Thessalonians 3: ‘There may be trouble ahead…’(click here for todays passage)

Recently, my wife and I spent a restful few days at Idbury in the Cotswolds. One morning, I was looking out of the window, watching the birds playing ‘chase’, and I had a sudden thought that if a budgie were to be released into the wild, these seemingly gentle birds would probably reject and kill it. I believe it is a fact that birds will often turn on other birds of a different plumage.

One preacher said that when a person becomes a Christian they make at least two discoveries. The first one is good; the second not so good. First of all, they find they’ve got a whole lot of new friends, and that’s great. But they also come to realise that they now have a number of new enemies, and that, of course, is less welcome. A new convert asked his pastor, ‘Now that I am a Christian, how much of the world must I give up?’ ‘Don’t worry,’ his minister replied. ‘The world will give you up!’

Paul taught the Thessalonians the inevitability of suffering for Christ in some form (3, 4; John 16:33; 2 Tim.3:12). The spirit that crucified Jesus is still abroad in this world, and it is pervasive, and while we live in the world we can expect trouble. It is extremely important that new Christians should be thoroughly prepared for this in the discipling process, so that no-one is taken by surprise or feels mis-led. There is no ‘easy-believism’ in the New Testament. ‘’We did not want any of you to lose heart at the troubles you were going through, but to realise that we Christians must expect such things.’’ J.B. Phillips (3) Suffering in some way is the common experience of the majority of Christians across the world. Satan, like the savage beast he is, seeks to ‘’devour’’ believers through persecution (1 Peter 5:8, 9).There is the very real danger that some may fall away through fear or discouragement etc. This was Paul’s concern for the Thessalonians, and why he sent Timothy to them (5). He was fearful that they might have been ‘savaged’ in the early stages of their Christian experience. ‘’You will understand that, when the suspense became unbearable I sent someone to find out how your faith was standing the strain, and to make sure that the tempter’s activities had not destroyed our work.’’ J.B. Phillips.

Because it’s ‘a jungle’ out there, it is essential that new believers should have a family around them who will stick close to them. That’s what Paul, Silas and Timothy did with the new Christians in Thessalonica for as long as they could (Chapter 2). But when they could not be there in person, God’s keeping power was nonetheless in evidence. Thank God, we can trust His ‘amazing grace.’

Prayer: Lord, help me to be willing to be hit by any of the ‘missiles’ this fallen world hurls at you.

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Daily Bible thoughts 942: Tuesday 11th August 2015: 1 Thessalonians 3: ‘Love Does.’

 1 Thessalonians 3: ‘Love Does.’(please click here for todays passage)

It is instructive to consider how Paul showed his love and concern for the new Christians in Thessalonica:

  • He sacrificed Timothy to go and see about their welfare (1, 2). He went without his friend’s companionship and assistance so that they could have his help. Paul and Silas and Timothy were a close knit team, and it must have been hard to let Timothy go. (In fact, reading the account in Acts 17, it seems that Paul may have been alone in Athens for a time, in which case the sacrifice was probably even greater.) But ‘love does’! Loving involves giving and putting others first. Real love is Christ-like in its quality and one measure of love is, ‘What am I prepared to give up for the sake of another?’ (By the way, there’s a saying that ‘’Two’s company; three’s a crowd.’’ Many of us will understand, from experience, how this can be so. But the grace of God can overcome all natural obstacles, and these three men were able to work together for the cause of the Kingdom of God.)
  • He used words that conveyed how precious they were to him. He wasn’t afraid to let his feelings show. He told them what they meant to him; how much he wanted to be with them and how he prayed that it might be so. He poured this love into ink and letter format. Who should you drop a line to soon, to thank them, let them you’re thinking about them, and that you’re praying for them etc.? Still today, in this digital age, (and perhaps more so because of it), people love to receive hand-written letters. Many will be kept, and even discovered by family and friends after the recipient has died. Letter-writing can be a wonderful ministry in itself.
  • He spelled out the difficult implications of what it means to be a Christian; he warned them about the uncomfortable ramifications of discipleship, just like Jesus did (3, 4). (We will return to this theme in tomorrow’s notes.) But Paul and his team showed ‘tough love’. ‘’Not that the troubles should come as any surprise to you. You’ve always known that we’re in for this kind of thing. It’s part of our calling. When we were with you, we made it quite clear that there was trouble ahead. And now that it’s happened, you know what it’s like.’’ The Message.
  • He prayed. He prayed for their growth in love and holiness (12, 13). He prayed for the way back to Thessalonica to become unblocked so that he could see them again and serve them again (10, 11). He prayed ‘’earnestly’’…’’Night and day…’’ (Again, we will think a little more about the content of Paul’s prayer in Thursday’s notes.)

Still today Christian leaders can apply these timeless lessons from Paul, Silas and Timothy. We are to both show and tell God’s people how much we love them; serving them, sacrificing for them, praying for them, and being totally honest about all the implications of following Jesus.

‘’In the middle of our trouble and hard times here, just knowing how you’re doing keeps us going. Knowing that your faith is alive keeps us alive.’’

This wonderful intertwining of hearts lies at the very core of pastoral ministry. May it be in evidence in every local church!

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Daily Bible thoughts 940: Friday 7th August 2015: Jeremiah 12:7-17: Tough love

 Jeremiah 12:7-17: Tough love(please click here for todays passage)

In yesterday’s reading we saw how Jeremiah asked God the age-old question: ‘’Why does the way of the wicked prosper?’’ (1).The answer he received was that things were going to get worse in the short term (5, 6), although long term, as today’s passage shows (15, 16) they would become much better. There was the hope of a more golden future, even for those who attacked and overran and uprooted Judah, because God is good. ‘’…I will relent and take them tenderly to my heart and put them back where they belong, put each of them back in their home country, on their family farms. Then if they will get serious about living my way and pray to me as well as they taught my people to pray to that god Baal, everything will go well for them.’’ The Message. Of course it is true to say that another more terrible possibility was on the horizon if they would not turn to the Lord (17), but that wasn’t what He wanted. His desire was to bless them. He wants to draw to Himself a people from all the nations

But all that was still in the future. Jeremiah was told that the persecution and suffering would become worse for him in the days ahead. There was a lot of heavy rain in the forecast, before the appearance of sunshine.

‘’It was the answer Jeremiah needed. He needed to be braced, not pampered.’’ Hugh Black

‘’The easy life is ultimately the hard life, because the easy life stifles maturity, but the difficult life challenges us to develop our ‘’spiritual muscles’’ and accomplish more for the Lord. Phillips Brooks said the purpose of life is the building of character through truth, and you don’t build character by being a spectator.’’ Warren W. Wiersbe: ‘The Wiersbe Bible Commentary (OT), p.1222.

So, Jeremiah was told that there was worse to come. But he was also assured that the wicked in Judah would be punished (7-13). God’s ‘’inheritance’’ (7) included both the land of Israel/Judah and the people themselves (Exodus 19:5, 6; Deut.4:20; 32:9; Ex.15:17; Ps.78:55). As they had forsaken Him, according to the terms of the covenant He would forsake them. His own people were roaring at Him ‘’like a lion’’ (8), so He had come to ‘’hate’’ them. What that means is that He had withdrawn the expression of His love towards them and would now treat them as if He hated them, handing them over to their enemies. While it is true to say that God’s love is unconditional, the enjoyment of His love is conditional. ‘’She’s been, this one I hold dear, like a snarling lion in the jungle, Growling and baring her teeth at me – and I can’t take it anymore.’’ The Message. The people are ‘’like a speckled bird of prey’’ about to be preyed upon (9). The Lord goes on to say that ‘’shepherds’’ (i.e. enemy rulers) will trample His ‘’vineyard’’ (Judah), and turn it into a ‘’desolate wasteland’’ (10). The Babylonians and their allies were going to swarm all over the land (see 2 Kings 24:1, 2) wielding the ‘’sword of the LORD’’ (i.e. His sword of judgment). The land will produce nothing (13) and the farmers will work in vain, bearing the shame of their poor harvest. All this was going to happen because God’s people had broken His covenant (see Lev.26:20, 25, and 33).

God’s Word is true. Do not doubt that it will come to pass. We ignore and reject it at our peril. May these excruciatingly painful lessons from Biblical history not be lost on us.

Prayer: Help me Lord to hold fast to all your Word.

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Daily Bible thoughts 939: Thursday 6th August 2015: Jeremiah 12:1-6: Take it to the Lord in prayer

Jeremiah 12:1-6: Take it to the Lord in prayer (please click here for todays passage)

This is an age old question, often repeated in the Bible (see for example Job 21:4-21; Habakkuk 1:1-4).

If something troubles you, take it to the Lord in prayer. But when He answers it may not always be what you want to hear. When we begin to seriously pray about an issue it frequently seems to get worse before it gets better. In response to his prayer, Jeremiah was specifically told that the situation would deteriorate in the short to mid-term.

‘’Jeremiah knew that God’s justice would ultimately come, but he was impatient because he wanted justice to come quickly. God didn’t give a doctrinal answer, instead he gave a challenge. If Jeremiah couldn’t handle this, how would he handle the injustices ahead? It is natural for us to demand fair play and cry for justice against those who take advantage of others. But when we call for justice, we must realise that we ourselves would be in big trouble if God gave each of us what we truly deserve…Life was extremely difficult for Jeremiah despite his love and obedience to God. When he called to God for relief, God’s reply in effect was, ‘If you think this is bad, how are you going to cope when it gets really tough?’ Not all of God’s answers to prayer are nice or easy to handle. Any Christian who has experienced war, bereavement, or a serious illness knows this. But we are to be committed to God even when the going gets tough and when his answers to our prayers don’t bring immediate relief.’’ ‘The Life Application Bible’, pp.1304, 1305.

The life of Christian discipleship is not an inoculation against trouble. Anyone who thinks it is will be likely to become seriously disillusioned somewhere along the way. Jeremiah says to us that the more faithful we are the more trouble we will face. But we are never alone; we can always pray.

Just one other thought for today. It is terribly possible for us to become like the people described in (2b; see also Isaiah 29:13; Jeremiah 3:10; Matthew 15:8, 9; Titus 1:16). True religion is a matter of the heart. Above all else we must guard our hearts for out of them flow all the issues of life.

Prayer: God be in my heart and in my loving.

 

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